In an unprecedented decision, the supreme court in Colorado has disqualified former US President Donald Trump from holding office again.
Trump is seeking a comeback to the White House next year.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, the court ruled that Trump was not an eligible candidate because he had engaged in an insurrection with the US Capitol riot of 2021.
Although the ruling only applies to Colorado’s state primary election on March 5, it marks the first time that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which disqualifies people who engage in insurrection against the constitution after taking an oath to support it — is successful against Trump.
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Similar attempts have been made in New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Michigan but they have failed.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly. We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us,” the justices wrote in their ruling.
“We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
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Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, called the ruling “completely flawed”, saying Democrat party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the “growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls”.
“They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November,” Cheung added.
He said Trump’s legal team would “swiftly file an appeal” to the US Supreme Court, where conservatives hold a 6 to 3 majority.
Colorado election officials have said the matter needs to be settled by January 5, which is the statutory deadline to set the list of candidates for the primary.
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In 2021, Trump supporters breached police lines and stormed the US Capitol Hill building while Congress was sitting to verify then President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Police said four persons died and at least 14 of its personnel were injured. Over 50 persons were arrested.
Trump has promised to pardon most or all of the rioters if he is re-elected president in 2024.
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